Yesterday I heard a promo on KSTP that said they were going to talk about online sites that can help you find childcare. It sounded like the perfect idea to someone who orders her groceries online, works online, and even had her husband writing updates to their blog while I was in labor.
Imagine my disappointment when once again, I see that they are promoting paid websites. Not that I begrudge the money to find a good in-home, part time caregiver for my daughter, I just don’t want to 15 dollars a month for a service I hopefully will only use once, and I don’t want yet another website having all of my contact information.
How do people find childcare when you don’t know other folks with kids to network with? And how much do you pay people, since when I was babysitting it was a dollar a kid per hour?
11 Reader Comments
3:28 pm
Hey Rew. This article is kind of old (sept. 2006) but it deals with how to assess childcare and the state’s attempt to create a rating system that parents can access. It also has a segment about how Angie’s List now has childcare reviews. It’s yet another pay site, though, so this might not be what you’re looking for.
3:32 pm
If you’re looking for childcare — not babysitters — the best place to go is MNChildCare.org.
4:11 pm
hmm
the MNChildcare looks closer to what I’m looking for, but doesn’t seem to have any info on people who might be willing to provide care in my home.
Basically, I’m looking for someone who might want to come over two or three days a week and do daycare while I’m either working in my home but in my office, or leaving for a few short meetings. It’s really much more difficult to work and care for the child at the same time than I thought it would be.
I think in the end I probably would want just a college student who has a bit of free time and wants some side cash. Maybe I should figure out how to put an ad in MNDaily.
4:49 pm
Try sittercity.com. It’s like MySpace for babysitters and parents. I found a summer nanny gig Ihad many moons ago on there. I know it’s free for sitters, at least.
5:24 pm
Mary Poppins is a pistol packin’ nanny.
5:46 pm
rew- before you take out the ad, call some of the local colleges to see if they have nanny lists. My college had a list students could sign up on if they were available to babysit for locals that parents could ask for to call students. Start by calling the career centers.
5:48 pm
thanks for tip, josie. i’ve been looking for the exact same thing as rew. finding a sitter is darn near impossible for a single guy with no family in town.
7:50 pm
We used sitter city (there is a charge if you’re looking– it’s like $40/year, I think), and (egads!) Craiglist. We posted a help wanted ad in CL and had a dozen responses the first day. (We wanted daycare in home, 5 days a week, 8:30am-12:30pm). Almost all had impressive resumes. In a day.
Similar luck with Sittercity. This was a month ago.
10:18 pm
My wife and I both work from home and have two small children. We have had good luck with Craigslist as long as you are very specific of your needs. Our “nanny” comes three times a week and we pay $15/hr for which we expect a certain level of care (no tv, fast food, let the kids play by themselves all day while I read type of thing). We want them to have constructive time together, do art projects, go to play groups, and get outside as much as possible. You might not find that in the college kid but you could get lucky. We also use a service to conduct a background check. Bottom line is, be direct and spell out what you are looking for. If you put a basic ad up, “looking for childcare,” you’re going to have a lot to sift through.
6:54 am
luckily we’re still in the hold her, change her, give her some tummy time and rock her stage. Reading her a book every now and then would be nice, too.
Our emergency stand in puts her in the glider and plays x-box. But then again, I put her in the glider a lot, too.
I’ll try the craigslist.
2:04 pm
hey there!
I belong to MOMS club in Minnesota, and we get together (mostly during the day, its a lot of stay at home moms) to discuss all aspects of the world. I would email a few close to you and see if they have any suggestions. Usually moms know best! check out http://www.momsclub.org to find your closest MOMS club!